Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c 

INTRODUCTION

            At the age of 10, I teetered on the edge of the Grand Canyon.  Those were the days when guard rails were few and far between, and if one were not careful, one could easily trip and fall in.  Since I was a clumsy child, I almost did.  My father’s hand reached out to rescue me as I pitched forward into what would surely have been a swan dive, if not to the bottom, several hundred feet down. 

            After my beating heart stilled, and I’d heard a stern lecture from my father, I was much more careful.  The sheer size of the canyon was beyond comprehension for my 10-year-old mind.  I’ve been back several times and am still powerfully affected by the grandeur and beauty.  The word “awesome” has become a cliché in our time for just about anything that’s a bit out of the ordinary.  The word ought to be reserved for experiences of the creative genius of God such as the Grand Canyon.

            The psalmist proclaims the awesome creative power of God.  He describes the wonder of creation from the heavens and clouds to the foundation of the earth, rivers and streams, plants and animals, wild goats, the cedars of Lebanon and great monsters of the sea.  Often in our busy lives, we forget the awesome works of God.  Especially those of us who live in the city can go for days without seeing particularly extraordinary evidence of natural wonder.  We can barely see the stars even on clear nights.  The past few days as I drove Eva and Jessie across the mountains to Ohio and back to visit colleges, we had the chance to drink in God’s awesome creativity in the beauty of the autumnal landscape.

Psalm 104

            Psalm 104 is an ancient Hebrew hymn describing the cycle of the Palestinian agricultural year.  The writer celebrates both the initial act of creation and God’s continuing providential care.  The language is mythological.  God is an almost anthropomorphic deity reminiscent of the Greek and Roman gods.  “You make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.” (vs. 3-4)  Further, God enjoys creation, taking delight in it.

            The psalm affirms that God is not only the Creator, but as Sustainer of what has been brought into being.  We read that all creatures…”look to you to give them their food in due season, when you give to them, they gather up, when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.” (vs. 28-29) God is portrayed by the psalmist as active and involved in the world.

            People continue to anthropomorphized God.  I came across this joke:

On the first day of creation, God says to one of the angels: “Whew!  I just created a 24-hour period of alternating light and darkness on Earth.”

The angel asks, “What are you going to do now.”

God replies:  “Call it a day.”

Seeking Meaning in Life

            When I meet a person who doesn’t believe in God, I’m always amazed.  The universe seems so fantastic to me with all its wonders, I can’t believe it came into being by accident.  Most people in the U. S. agree, believing that a Supreme Being created the universe.  However, we differ in our concepts of God.   A recent issue of Presbyterian Outlook magazine carried an article about a survey conducted by Baylor University with funding from the Lilly Foundation.  This survey is the most comprehensive and extensive research ever conducted into what people in the U.S. believe about God.  Though data is still being analyzed, preliminary data reveals four major concepts of God.  Among those who believe, about 89% of the population, the largest group believes in an authoritarian judgmental God who is engaged with our world. The second largest group believes in a benevolent God who is engaged with the world.  Twenty-three percent believe in a distant God and 16% in a critical God who is judgmental and not engaged in the world.[1]  I mention this data in my November Forerunner article.   

            When we consider the vastness of the universe and what God creates, we often sometimes feel insignificant.  One wonders “how can God care for me when God is concerned with the whole of creation?”  In Psalm 8, the poet asks this question:

            When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?  Yet you have made them a little lower than God… (Psalm 8: 3-5)

The question of human meaning and purpose is an age-old one.  Each of us seeks to understand the significance of our lives.

            During this season when we consider our stewardship of the resources God entrust to us, I’ve been talking about matters of the heart, with messages such as the heart of the servant, hearts that heal and intentions of the heart.  The question of meaning and purpose in life is a matter of the heart.  As I’ve been visiting colleges with Eva and Jessie, this question repeatedly emerged, because it is a matter many college students must consider as they study and explore, decide on a major, develop career goals, and prepare for lives of work.  We visited Antioch College.  Thomas Mann, their first president, wrote what has become the school’s motto: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”  Is winning a victory for humanity the purpose of life?  One thing I’ve repeatedly told my children is that they choose to do in their careers what will make the world a more just, peaceful and/or beautiful place.  Finding meaning and purpose in life is important because the world so often is lost and devoid of direction, decency, and kindness.

Our Purpose

            When I was going through confirmation class at the age of 12, I had to memorize part of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, one of the creeds and confessions in our Book of Confessions.  The first question addresses human purpose.  “What is the chief end of man?  (Language in the 17^th century was not inclusive.)  The answer:  “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”[2]  When I was 12, this didn’t mean much to me.  In fact, I remember thinking it was pretty unexciting.  That’s it?  What kind of purpose was that?  But the older I get, the more I appreciate it.  As we drove over the mountains and feasted our eyes on the riot of colors, I gave thanks and praise to God.  I enjoyed God’s creativity.  I rested in the beauty, the predictable changing of the seasons, and I reflected on the marvelous diversity of God’s handiwork.

Enjoying God

            How numerous are the ways to glorify God.  In December of 2005 a group of researchers trekked into an area of New Guinea unexplored by human beings (at least as far as we know).  There they discovered a bizarre looking orange-faced honey-eater bird, the first new species of bird found in New Guinea since 1939.  They also found golden-mantled tree kangaroos.  I didn’t know kangaroos hung out in trees!  These scientists discovered many other undocumented flora and fauna. 

            Not all of us can be scientists exploring pristine forests in exotic corners of the globe.  Fortunately the wonders of Creation are now available to us through media.  We discover that the blue whale is longer than three dump trucks, heavier than 110 Honda Civics, and has a heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.  Human beings have learned that a blue whale eats four tons of krill a day—over three million calories!  When a blue whale surfaces, it takes in the largest breath of air of any living thing on the planet.  Its spray shoots higher into the air than the height of a telephone pole.[3]

            Here are some more interesting things we’ve learned about God’s creation: A cockroach can live nine days without its head before it starves to death.  28% of Africa is wilderness.  38% of the U. S. is wilderness.  Fish scales are an ingredient in most lipsticks[4]—yuck!

Conclusion

            God has blessed us abundantly not only with life itself, but with a wonder-full world to enjoy.  Our response to this gift is awe!  We are overwhelmed with awe at what God has created. 

            Par of the commitment our hearts make is the preservation of Creation through stewardship.  Another facet of the gift is that we, ourselves created in God’s image, are imbued with capacity to be co-creators, and as we delight in God’s creativity, so God delights in ours.

            The psalmist begins with “Bless the Lord, O my soul.  O Lord, my God, you are very great.  He ends with “Halleluiah!” which is Hebrew for “Praise the Lord.”  These are the beginnings and endings of a joyful heart, a heart centered on the God who creates and sustains all of life. 

Let us pray:  Holy, creative God, you are our beginning and our ending.  You are the force that prompts the goodness we can perform.  Thank you for loving us and all creation into being.  May our mouths speak your praises and our lives bring glory to you.  Amen.